Better Yet
by Madi Starlight
Summary: An Post-Invasion AU. Many people are left hurting after Wally's disappearance. Once he is found alive, things begin to go back to normal, at least for some. But what happens if Artemis has decided to move on? As M'gann tries to comfort her friends and bring them all back together, some interesting relationships begin to develop that none of them ever could have foreseen.
1. Chapter 1

**Foreword:** This story _will _have Wally/M'gann in it.

_I had been juggling with some other ship ideas for M'gann and came up with a storyline one night for M'gann/Wally that... well, I shipped it. It was minor, but I was like, hey as long as it's not canon, we're cool. Also, I have yet to see some well developed Wally/M'gann stuff here, except for a few wonderful one-shots... mostly pre-Invasion._

_The idea I came up with...oh, forever ago now, I'm deciding to write down -finally- for my own entertainment purposes (and perhaps the enjoyment of others who take a chance on it). If you do take the time to read it, I thank you HEARTILY in advance... my character portrayals aren't perfect, but this is how I see them. Keep in mind that this is very AU, what-iffy, type stuff. So if you don't like it, I only ask that you don't complain because I'm letting you know what you're getting yourself into. Now. To begin...]]_

M'gann sat quietly looking through mail at her new apartment. Now that her uncle was back, staying in his tiny apartment was no longer an option. Sure, her uncle wouldn't have minded. In fact, he would have enjoyed it. But as much as she loved her uncle, they lived two separate lives, and the apartments owner would never have approved of two living in a place meant for one. So she decided to move back to Happy Harbor, and she brought her little brother with her, if only to get him out of that dreadful warehouse. It was closer to her college and close enough for Mr. Carr to resume tutoring Garfield. There was a zeta in the area for Team missions and she had developed a fondness towards the area. This was home.

Now to pay the bills. An unnamed outsider (whom she assumed she knew) had offered to pay expenses, to which she had agreed, but only for move-in costs. After the first month she decided she'd be okay on her own. Which, proved more difficult than she'd thought. Eventually, without her asking, the outsider continued to help. And, by this point, she had a simple job that didn't require much more than her being on time. For the most part, shifts were easy to manage, but it really wasn't easy as a whole to manage hero work, real work, college, and taking care of her brother. So as she stared at this pile of bills, she groaned and sank into a ball, being only held up by the air beneath her.

Walking in, covered head-to-toe in mud was Beast Boy.

"Hey, sis! Um... you all right? Why are you floating like that in the kitchen? You look like a hamster all curled up-"

"I'm fine, Gar." She mumbled, half-encouraging as she set her feet down on the ground. Arms outstretched, she went to hug him, although her nose wrinkled and she stopped short. "Garfield! I just mopped this morning! Why are you covered in mud? All you said was that you were going to Jaime's place with your other friends..."

"I did! Just, he lives in New Mexico, and it rained, and it was SO cool because we did capture the flag IN THE RAIN and I was Python Leader and Bart led the other team. But he ran to fast and slipped and some of the mud got on me."

M'gann's frown deepened with every word until finally she ran a hand over her face and gave another groan as she began pushing him towards the bathroom. "In the shower. Now. Put your clothes to wash, then clean up this mess."

"Wait, hey!" He began to protest. "I said now. Please." Was her reply before giving him one last shove.

Shaking her head, she plopped down on the couch. This was her life. Work. College. Cleaning. And being a hero. It was stressful, but she wouldn't give it up for anything. A knock was heard at the door along with the buzz of doorbell. At first she contemplated opening it, but the continued buzzing eventually got her up. As she opened the door, she was met with a warm, familiar smile that she had grown to love and recognize. "Conner! What are you doing here? ...Covered in mud." He only cleared his throat. "Ah...A training exercise with the younger members."  
"So I heard. Gar had a lot of fun."  
"Well, of course. You know, I couldn't make it boring."  
"Of course. Sounds more like boys-night-out if you ask me."  
He smiled, a little sheepishly, looking down at his clothes. "Don't suppose you'd let me in like this."  
A sigh. "Might as well. Damage was already done."  
The door was held open and the sullied boy of steel walked in. "Where's Gar?"  
"The shower."  
"Smart boy."  
"Wasn't his idea."  
"Did he argue?"  
"No."  
"Smart boy."

M'gann laughed and leaned against the kitchen counter. "Are you patrolling to make sure he got home safe or here for something else?" She asked, secretly wishing he was also there to see her. Amidst all the chaos, a part of her still yearned to rekindle her relationship with Conner. Neither had really done or said anything about it. It really was like starting all over again, except as adults and not mere alien teenagers. "Well, I did drop by to say hi." He replied. "But I was wondering..." She leaned forward in anticipation. "Wally's birthday is tomorrow. Were we going to see Artemis?" Disappointment melted into a sickening shock. Not so much because she forgot, but at first because she forgot to plan something, and then the reality that there was nothing to plan. Wally wouldn't have another birthday. Swallowing hard, she nodded slowly. "I think so. I mean, it's been a couple of months. Do you think she's doing okay?"  
"So far as I've heard. I've really only spoken to her on Team missions and meetings. Is it just me? Or is it almost like she's..."  
"Distancing herself." M'gann finished. As much as they'd tried to reach out, so far Artemis didn't want it. "It'll be good to see her, to talk to her. Maybe she just needs to open up." He nodded in agreement. "Right. So, I'll meet you there?" The thought made her smile and she gave her affirmation.

The night went on. Conner left, Gar finished his chores and went to bed, M'gann stayed up to turn in an online assignment. Once that was done, she was left awake to ponder. No one had really gotten over Wally's death, but they'd all continued their lives. She only hoped that her best friend would be all right after what seemed like an eternity after she lost the man she loved.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, Artemis!" M'gann greeted brightly, along with an equally bright Conner. Artemis rose her brows in surprise. "What are you guys doing here?"  
"We dropped in to say hi." Conner answered.  
A small smile appeared on Artemis's face and she held the door open wider to let them in.

The small home in Palo Alto looked unchanged on the outside. The inside looked as if it were a different house. Everything had been changed, from furniture placement to wall and carpet color. The couch had been moved to the other side of the room. All the frames had been taken down. The bookshelf was removed. Only a small amount of books remained in neat piles underneath the coffee table. Tigress's various weapons lay scattered across the floor near the foot of the couch. Her television was now mounted on the wall instead of on a stand. One thing was for sure -every last trace of Wally's presence had been erased. "You've been busy!" M'gann said, half-laughing. Her best friend only nodded, back turned towards them. "Yeah... You guys can make yourselves comfortable. I'll see if I have anything to drink..." The two newcomers exchanged a glance, one about to protest, but she was already rummaging through the refrigerator.

M'gann signed and sat on the couch, motioning for Conner to join her. Artemis returned to them, a bottle of soda in hand and a few plastic cups. "Sorry, it's all I have. Besides water. I know that's not very exciting."  
"Don't you always have tea?" M'gann asked, curious.  
"Tea? Oh. Yeah. I wasn't sure if you guys..."  
"Artemis, you practically shoved it down everyone's throats back in the old days. If we didn't like it, we like it now." Conner said with a grin.

Minutes later, plastic cups were replaced by a set of teacups, soda with comforting Vietnamese tea that Artemis never ceased to have in her home. All three crowded on the couch, laughing with one another. Just for a moment, it felt like old times. They were carefree teenagers once more. "I'm really glad you two came." Artemis admitted finally. "It's been pretty lonely around here." A pang of guilt hit M'gann. "I'm sorry we didn't come sooner." The other merely shrugged. "I found ways to keep myself..." She glanced around. "Busy."  
"We noticed." They all chuckled, then there was a silence. A sigh came from Artemis as she placed her cup down on the coffee table. "This is sweet and all. But I know why you guys are really here."  
The opposite two frowned as if to protest. "What are you talking about?" Conner questioned.  
"Well, come on. You both know what day it is. You didn't just pop in for no reason. I'm smarter than that. You came to see how I was doing because...you know... Wally."  
M'gann and Conner exchanged a glance. The earlier sighed and placed a hand on her friend's arm. "We weren't thinking you were stupid. You're right, that is why we came. But we also came to spend time with you. Just... we felt today was-"  
"What? More appropriate?"  
"No, what she means to say," Conner cut in. "Is that we knew today of all days was going to be hard on you. It's hard on us. And if you were hurting we wanted to be there for you." A bit of relief went through M'gann. Conner may have been the Superboy, the Boy of Steel, but that didn't mean he had a heart of steel. When it counted, he always knew just what to say.

Artemis held her arms and leaned forward, staring at the floor. For a moment no one spoke until finally she broke the silence. "I'll be fine. For now, I'm just trying to forget about it." This brought a bit of surprise to both. "Forget? About what? Wally?" M'gann asked, only receiving a look. "No. Well." Artemis scowled and stood. "Wally was a huge part of my life. I'll never forget. And I'm not regretting a minute of it. But if I don't move on... I just don't want to end up that girl who never moved on with her life. Wally... he'd want me to be happy. He always tried so hard to make me happy. I have to move on. For both of us. Besides, I'm never going to see him again." Tears had broken through her eyes now. "I'm never going to see him again. And if I'm ever going to be Tigress, then I have to accept that." It was almost as if she were saying this only to reassure herself, and not trying to make a statement to her friends. M'gann stood to wrap her arms around the sobbing girl who was trying to seem strong, but was only shrugged off. "No, M'gann. I'm... I can't." She wiped her eyes and took a few deep breaths, that caused her frame to shudder. "There's nothing to cry about anymore. I'm okay." She forced a smile that only brought tears to M'gann's own eyes. "Artemis, you can't just-"  
"You don't understand, M'gann. Look at you." She gestured between her and Conner. "You two are back together. You still have a reason to be happy."  
"We're, ah...not together." Conner said quickly. M'gann rose a mental brow, but shook it off. "That doesn't matter. I do know what it's like to lose someone you love with all your heart and how difficult it is to move on." She took the girl's hand in response to the less-than-assured look on her face. "You're right in that you should move on. It's for the best, but that doesn't mean you can't think back and treasure the moments you two had. You should embrace them; let them push you forward, not drag you down. If you have that in mind, then trust me, they won't."  
Artemis made a face and pulled her hand away to cross her arms. "Okay, M'gann, I'm sure 'losing' Conner wasn't that bad for you. You seemed fine with Lagoon Boy."  
"What? Oh. No, I wasn't talking about that. That was... never mind. I meant..." She hesitated realizing she'd never really opened up about the story she was referring to. "What?" Her friend pressed. "It doesn't matter. Let's just say when I lost... that person... I let it encourage me to come to here to Earth. If I was able to do that, you can do the same."  
"You were in love with someone on Mars?" Artemis questioned in shock. Meanwhile, she could feel Conner's piercing gaze. "What? No! I- Look! All I'm trying to say is that you don't have to do this, Artemis. You don't have to force Wally out of your life like this."

The girl shook her head. "I know what I'm doing, M'gann. I don't need you to question what I'm doing with my life."

"No. But we can do our best to make sure that you're going to be okay." Conner answered, standing finally. "We're you're friends. You're all we care about." This received a nod I'm agreement from M'gann and another deep breath from Artemis as she tried again not to let any tears escape. "Thanks you guys. I'll be okay." She replied, her voice shaky. Again she was held tightly by M'gann, though this time she didn't push away. Conner too joined in the hug. It wasn't long before they were all laughing and talking again. Though as soon as they had left, Artemis returned to her room and began to pile numerous boxes into her car.

Not long later she was on her way to the West's home. They greeted her like she was their own daughter back for the holidays, which they numerous times invited her over for. But in her mind she knew this would be her last visit. If she could help it anyways. The boxes were brought into Wally's old room, everything just as when he'd left it before he moved to Palo with Artemis. A tinge of nostalgia hit her only to be buried deep. "Sorry, Baywatch..." She whispered as she placed a hand on the doorknob. "I know it's your birthday, but... I have to move on." The door shut quietly behind her. She lingered there in the hallway, a wave of emotions crashing down on her. The jingle of a collar was heard along with the heavy pants and whining's of a pit bull. "Hey, Brucely." She smiled, bending down to rub the dog's head. "Have you been good?"  
"Are you sure you don't want to keep him? He's missed you severely since you dropped him off last week." Asked Mrs. West, walking in.  
Artemis stood and nodded. "He's a good boy. He'll adjust soon. I just... I can't handle taking care of him on my own now. Life's been busy. I just...didn't know what to do with him." The truth was, Brucely was Wally's dog. Seeing him only brought more memories. "Really, Mary, thank you so much for taking him in."  
"Anything for you, dear. Besides..." The woman smiled a sad smile as the dog ran relentlessly up and down the hallway. "He's a good reminder of Wally."

"He's been eating everything, hasn't he?"

Both laughed and said their goodbye's. Again, Artemis was offered a place at the Thanksgiving table. Again, she declined on account of earlier plans of being with her mother. At some point in the past, she imagined the West family would one day be her family as well. In a way, they had been. But not anymore. Artemis Crock was Artemis Crock. And that woman had no reason to look back. Not at Wally, and not for anything else.


	3. Chapter 3

A few months later found the holidays past. January passed into February, February to March, and soon to April. Spring break left the younger Team members much relieved and more time to focus on far more important things like fun. And of course their physical training too. The older members were only left to remember days when they had time off. Oh the trouble they got into. These thoughts had them keeping an extra eye on the younger ones. Though close supervision at all times was beginning to become irritating.

"Hey, hermano!" Greeted an enthusiastic Kid Flash. "What are you planning to do for Easter?" Jaime only glanced up from his spring break reading assignment. "What? Oh. Nothing I guess. I'll probably go to Mass and then sleep all day. That is, if I finish this stupid book on time." "Lucky." Sighed Wondergirl. "Sleeping all day sounds awesome." "Uh, that sounds bo-ring. You should totally come over to where I'm staying. It'll be crash." "Sorry. The only 'crashing' I'll be doing is on my bed." Jaime stated confidently, though his friend only gave him a very confused look. Jaime went back to his book, Cassie back to texting away. Bart seemed to be the only one not occupied with anything. The Watchtower was very quiet. Most of the Leaguers were gone on missions or otherwise occupied with their civilian lives. Black Canary was present, but not in the room.

Two minutes of doing absolutely nothing was too much for Bart. Feeling he was going to explode, he broke the silence quickly. "Let's go somewhere!" The others present looked up in surprise. "What?" Asked Robin walking over. "Go where?" Bart threw his hands up. "Anywhere! It's been boring just hanging here with nothing to do. Besides, nothing's come up. What are we waiting for?" He was cheerful enough to make the moon explode. For a moment it seemed like a good enough idea, but better judgement soon crept in to a few minds. "No, Aqualad and Batgirl specifically said-" Robin began only to be cut off by the speedster. "But that was HOURS ago! They're not back yet. We've got time to kill!" Jaime put his book down. "All right! Quiet!"  
Bart looked at him in surprise. "Oh. Not you."  
Confused blinks from the others caused some embarrassment. "Just... the leaders are going to find us. Trust me." "Come on, guys. We won't go anywhere dangerous! Let's just get back to earth. We'll find something to do."

A few more minutes of protesting, pleading, led to an eventual consent with the condition that they wouldn't be gone longer than an hour and a half, and would by no means get into to trouble. All that was left to decide was where they were going. Ideas were tossed back and forth until it was decided finally that they'd need to go somewhere isolated, for the sake of members like Garfield who'd recently joined the conspiracy. They also wanted general fun. The mountains sounded perfect.

Snow suites were put on. Soon they were through the Zeta tubes and happily playing in the snow. Any previous concern had melted away. How much trouble could they get in while they were making snow angels and snow men?

· · · · · · · ·  
All was well until the sound of a cell phone rang. Beast Boy (now in the cover of a snow bunker) looked downward to his bulging pocket. "Hey! Cover me!" He said scurrying off to take the call. At first he really didn't think twice about answering it and was as happy as ever. _"Garfield! Where are you?"_ Asked the unhappy voice on the other line. "Hiya, sis! Don't worry! We're not in trouble or anything. That's a shock, right? We were just really, really bored at the Watchtower so we-"  
_"We told you guys not to go anywhere!"_  
"But M'gann!"  
_"Just tell me where you are. Who's with you?"_  
"What? Sorry, my reception's not great. Your voice is all funny."  
The woman repeated the question.  
"Oh. Everyone else is here. Well, except you guys." He opened his mouth, about to answer the first question when it struck him that he really had no idea where they were. "Um. We're at the snow?"  
_"The snow? Gar, it's April. It hasn't snowed enough to play in since last month."_  
"Oh, we're not at home. We're someplace much cooler!" He snickered. "Get it? Cooler?"  
There was a groan on the other line.  
"I have to ask Tim- whoops! I mean Robin where we're at. We took the Zeta's and I didn't really pay attention to where we were. I'll call you back." Before she could say anything else, he hung up, trotting back to his bunker.

"Times! I gotta talk to Robin." The leader of the enemy team trudged over concerned. "Is everything all right?" "Yep!" The boy replied. "My sister just wanted to know where we were at." Tim's brows rose through the glasses concealing his eyes. "Oh. Um. I actually didn't program the Zeta's..." The conversation brought everyone else over. "Great." Muttered Static Shock. "Now they're gonna come here and yell at us."  
Wondergirl made a face.

"So where did we end up?" Was the question on everyone's minds. The only person being able to answer it was none other than Kid Flash. Bart gave a lopsided shrug as he smiled. "Didn't really know how to program your retro technology. I just tapped in the first snowy place that came up."  
"And where was that?" Jaime asked.  
"North pole." Tim answered after finally picking up a signal for his built-in GPS technology. Garfield immediately conveyed this information to his sister. "What? Here?" Wondergirl asked in shock looking around. A soft gasp came to her lips, as well as a hand. "Guys," She whispered. "Don't you recognize it?"  
Everyone looked about at the vicinity. Then they knew. A sad expression rose to nearly everyone's faces. The North Pole was where Wally died.


	4. Chapter 4

**[ Hey guys!Just want to say thanks for being patient. I know his storyline is developing at the pace of a snail. Sorry. Things should start picking up after this chapter, since this is what all those... slower chapters were leading up to. Feel free to leave comments :) I appreciate each and every one. Thanks again.]**

"M'gann..."  
The voice was in her head, but it was not her own. The first time she heard it, she was scolding her little brother. It sounded like her imagination, and she passed it off as such. It then persisted. A shiver ran through her. Not from the cold. "Hey, Miss Martian?" This time the voice was Wondergirl. "You coming?" The younger girl stood before the Zeta, waiting. M'gann blinked and nudged her forward, quickly saying, "I'll meet you all back at the Watchtower." The Zeta beam glowed, taking the members back. Meanwhile, she was already soaring through the air on her way to a more specific spot.

Though the air was frigid, she seemed not to feel anything. Of course, because as a Martian she was used to the child. But mainly because her only focus was on a feeling of uneasiness that had come over her. She knew this place. The thought alone saddened her. To be back only sharpened the pain in an old, nearly forgotten wound. She landed gently, her feet making a crunch in the snow. The wind had picked up. Suddenly she wanted to leave. What was she doing here? What happened...there was nothing she could do about it now.

_"Don't go! It's so lonely here. Please, M'gann! Please!"_

A cold feeling of fear shot through her and she gasped. She was a Martian, she knew better. This was more than voice in her head. _Who's there? Tell me now!_ She asked mentally. The question didn't need to be answered. The voice was recognizable. Her body began to shake. It was impossible. Too impossible. Wally disappeared. It hit her like ice water to her face. He only disappeared. How could he have died in such a manner? Why was she so stupid?

She swallowed. _W-Wally?_

There was a quiet. For a while she heard nothing but the wind. "Wally!" Rang her desperate cry. The wind seemed to portray a gasp. A warm presence engulfed her and passed her altogether. Her eyes widened. Wally was still alive. He was here. "Wally? Wally talk to me! I'm here! I'm listening! Where are you?"

No answer.

For a moment she was discouraged. What was she thinking? Talking to the wind? She grimaced and sank to her knees. Something in her wanted to hang on to the hope that she'd heard him. That he was really there -alive- but terrible lost. She wanted to hope that she could see him smile again. That the flirtatious, compassionate boy who'd become a man wasn't ripped from the lives of her friend forever. Her heart yearned and burned inside of her.

What had happened to all those years when they had not a care in the world other than the occasional crisis? They could do anything, be anything. They were brimming with hope. Now, hope in anything seemed lost. Every moment was precious. It only made her feel worse wondering if she'd made the most of her time with him. She could have done so much more. The regret she felt now was tenfold greater than she'd felt even at his funeral. "I'm so sorry, Wally." She looked up to the sky, tears filling her eyes. "Please come back to us."

_You're really there..._ The voice said finally.

Her eyes widened and she flew upwards, looking around. _Yes! Yes, I'm here._  
_I can't stop running. I can't stop. Make it stop!_  
_Wally, I..._ A feeling of despair collided with determination. _Where are you?_  
_It calls itself the Speedforce. Just get me out!_  
Tears spilled down her eyes. _I'm going to try. I promise. I'm going to try with_ everything _I've got._

· · · · · · · · · · · ·

What felt like hours later she sank exhausted into the snow. The sky grew darker, the wind carried snow now, the temperature dropped quickly. How could she have thought to _will_ him out of whatever he was in? She probably couldn't have, but she could try to help him open a portal. Everything in her body screamed at her. The biting cold was getting to her. Her head felt heavy as she was borderline overworked, at the same time, she'd begun to feel light-headed. She had to try. She couldn't let him down. With a cry she pushed out mentally, searching for a rift and finally caught hold of one. A feeling of joy was quickly replaced with her pain. The moment she began to doubt her own abilities was when she began to lose her grip on the rift. She considered letting it go. There was the option to leave and come back with help. Why was she attempting this alone anyway?

No, something told her this needed to be done now. Now, or she'd regret it the rest of her life. Then as if to confirm this, a flash of a face so...empty, lost, afraid, but more uncertain than anything, passed before her. That couldn't be him. She wouldn't allow it. Filled with new determination, she gave out a cry as her eyes glowed red. In order to conjure up enough brain power to complete the task, she needed to be free of the restriction of maintaining a human like form. Her natural form came over her and with a final burst of pain, she tore open the portal. A hand appeared, flailing and trying to grasp ahold of something. Quickly she grabbed it and pulled with all her might. A body came tumbling out. Both collapsed into a tangle of and and legs. M'gann went back into her green Martian form.

Neither said anything, both were freezing cold, utterly exhausted and panting for air. Wally tried to speak but could only mutter inaudible syllables. Humans weren't made to be I weather like this. Tired as she was, she could afford to rest just yet. Lifting him gently with her mind, she carried him to the Zeta's, occasionally having to stop to catch her breath. Finally, they made it back.

"Recognized: Miss Martian B05 and Kid Flash B03"

M'gann felt surprise ring throughout the Watchtower. Though, it could barely be registered. She herself was going into shock. "You're back. We're back. You're okay, Wally. It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay. I promise." She repeated constantly as if the passed out speedster could hear. Superboy had his hands on her shoulders. She only stared, shaking. "It's all... okay..."

And everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a few hours. Most of the older Team members, along with a few leaguers were present. The younger ones were sent home or arranged to stay at the warehouse in Bludhaven. Superboy remained outside the infirmary doors, awaiting news of any kind. He heard footsteps behind him, a ways off. Eventually they revealed the face of Dick Grayson. "How are they?" He asked quickly. The heartbeat inside him was fast. Nervous. Terrified. Conner sighed. "They're both out cold. Been that way since they dropped in." His shoulders sunk a little as he scowled. "She should've contacted us." Dick rose his eyebrows, and glanced at the doors. "So Wally's..."  
"Down there." Conner answered, already anticipating what he was going to ask, though Dick looked surprised.  
"That's not what I-"  
"Yeah. But he's alive. He's going to want to see you when he wakes."  
"I..." He smiled a little. "Thanks." Quickly he went a few doors down and entered in, closing the door behind him.

Meanwhile Conner closed his eyes and honed his hearing in on M'gann's door. There was a soft grunt as she began to awaken. He hesitated then opened the door. "C-Conner?" She asked as she stirred a minute later. "I'm here." A gasp passed over her lips as she sat up and looked around. "Wait. What happened? Where... where's Wally? Is he okay? Conner, tell me he's okay!" He sat beside her and placed a hand over hers to calm her. "Wally's going to be fine. Thanks to you." This comforted her and she leaned back.

"I guess you brought him in and passed out from exhaustion, let alone shock. M'gann," he continued, voice stern. "What were you thinking? All that time it took you to get over here and you couldn't comm us once. We are a Team. A family. We look out for each other and if one of us needs help, I'd expect you of all people to be able to call us in!"  
"I didn't have time! Besides, it was... very strange. Conner, half the time I didn't even know if I was imagining it or not! I wasn't going to call in a false alarm! Do you know what that would have done to Artemis?"  
"Artemis isn't what this is about! You could have died out there! Both of you! And don't try to make excuses here. We both know you had time."  
"I'm not trying to make excuses! I was too focused. I... I don't know. But why am I in trouble here? I just saved Wally's life! Whom we thought was gone forever. Some family we are. But look at us! We're fine!" She slung her legs over the side of the bed and stood.  
"And I don't need you to be angry with me right now. You're right. Maybe I shouldn't have done it by myself. Because, you know, maybe I wasn't capable or strong enough-"  
"M'gann-  
"And maybe I should've just waited around for someone else to get there, find us-"  
"M'gann!"  
"Try to figure out how to do things the hard way. That's fine. But you know what? I did it. And right now, that's all I care about."

He grabbed her shoulders before she could storm away from him. "Listen! I'm not calling you out on whether you were strong enough to save OUR friend. I'm calling you out because you weren't strong enough to consider asking for help because we ARE his family too."  
She glared at him and shook him off. For a few seconds, only anger filled her, then a conviction. _I was scared, Conner. I wanted him to be real. I didn't want to imagine it. I'm sorry..._  
He grabbed her hand as she passed him by. _M'gann..._  
The look of affection in his eyes was something she'd been waiting to see fit a long time. But in that moment she couldn't focus on it. She only squeezed his hand gently and left the room, immediately going to Wally's. Dick was in there sitting on a chair beside his bed. M'gann held her breath as bright green eyes watched her. "Well good morning." She said, brimming with gladness. After all this time here he was: alive and well. "Hey there." He greeted, a little groggy. "Thanks for... well, dragging me across the North Pole I think? Is... that what happened?"  
"For the most part."  
Dick stood and folded his and across his chest. "Really, Miss M. I don't know what you did, but he's been cracking bad jokes off the wall ever since he woke up."  
"Bad jokes! Awe, come on!" He protested with a pout. M'gann only laughed at the banter. "I'm just glad he's feeling better."

Their gazes met and exchanged a warm smile. One with complete gratitude, the other with pure wonder and relief. "Thank you, M'gann. From what I heard, unlike Mr. Grayson over here, you went through a lot for me."  
"Wait a second, I wasn't even-"  
"Right."  
Again, she laughed but nodded, knowing it was genuine. "It was nothing, Wally. Trust me, we all missed you... very much."  
Seeming to grow serious, he looked down at his hands. "Yeah. Did you guys...Well, just..." Dick tilted his head. "What?"  
"How's Artemis?"  
M'gann pursed her lips, exchanging a glance with Dick.  
"I haven't heard from her yet. I'm sure she'll be here soon and I'll bet she'll want to see you."  
This was met with another smile and he shrugged. "I know how she is. She probably... " Once again he trailed off. Dick looked over at the door. "I'll see if I can find out where she's at." M'gann nodded and started for the door. "Mhm, we'd better let you rest. We'll be back soon."

She was nearly out the door when he stopped her. "Yes?" There was great nervousness in him from what she could feel. "She's not...with anyone...is she?" Wally asked, innocently enough. For a moment she only watched him. "No. No she's not." But I can't say that she's completely yours anymore either. Those were the unspoken words on her lips as she closed the door behind her. An sad ache pierced her heart as she thought of what would happen if Artemis didn't take him back. _Artemis, I told you... you didn't have to force him out. Now he's here and... oh, what are you going to do?_


End file.
